


Midsummer Melody

by AllTheLokisWelcome7



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Demyx & Zexion (Kingdom Hearts) Friendship, Demyx makes a friend, Feel-good, Fluff, Gen, Midsummer, Solstice, They do too have hearts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-22
Updated: 2018-12-22
Packaged: 2019-09-24 14:19:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17102201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AllTheLokisWelcome7/pseuds/AllTheLokisWelcome7
Summary: Everyone thinks Demyx a fool, a simpleton, an imbecile. And while he concedes that sometimes he acts rather foolishly, he bounces up to oppose anyone who thinks him lesser. Because in the end, he just thinks differently, that's all.Meanwhile, Zexion is struggling to grasp the intricacies of a mind unlike his own, and unlike those of the other members. Someone that he finds he can't read well.





	Midsummer Melody

**Author's Note:**

> This is something of a tribute to Demyx; rather, the side of him I've been seeing in some fics lately that I found I rather like. A side where he just sees the world differently from everyone else.
> 
> Zexion's character deserves some focus, as well. His mind is fascinating.

Music flooded the Grey Area when the Cloaked Schemer returned from his mission, just as it had when he'd left this morning. _Has he moved at all the entire day?_ As he crossed unhurriedly from where his portal opened to the corridor on the other side of the room, the music came to a halt.

“Hey, Zexion?” the musician inquired quietly, his eyes on his instrument, although his still hands belied his interest.

“What is it, IX?” Zexion's tone, while short, didn't sound as harsh as it usually did. The almost-gentleness sang in Demyx's mind as notes swam briefly across his vision. He raised his question as his eyes followed them, not an unusual occurrence, but not constant either.

“Why does Kingdom Hearts glow so brightly, if it's supposed to be fuelled by darkness?”

Zexion's reply, instead of muttering facts that sometimes went over the blond's head, was unlike anything he had come to expect from the scientist.

“Sometimes, I feel as though I will never truly understand that mind of yours. It is rather bothersome when I find myself confounded by you, I must admit.”

“Wha-?” Before he had time to form a response, the Schemer was gone. _What's his hurry? Didn't he_ just _say that he wanted to know more? No matter_ , Demyx shrugged quietly, returning his attention to his sitar. _Maybe he just needs to rest up from his mission._

~~~

Zexion paced about his room, considering his tone from before. He had never felt the need to handle the blond carefully prior to this. Neither had he admitted to anything, much less something that he thought lessened his character. _Perhaps it was because the room was otherwise unoccupied and he will forget it soon enough. Yes, that must be it._ It wasn't until he caught the scent of the beach, steadily getting stronger, that he realised just how long he had been away. _Of_ course _Demyx would continue wanting such a strange question answered._

He ceased his pacing before he could be heard to be inside, standing beside his door so as to not cast a shadow, and waited. Demyx didn't knock, and he didn't speak; from the whisper of fabric and soft scuffling sounds, Zexion decided that he was trying to put something beneath the door. Soon after, his suspicions were confirmed when an envelope slipped into his room.

Quietly, as though fearing he'd be overheard, the blond spoke. “If you even _want_ to know...” Then he stood, turned and left without hurry, back in the direction he'd come from.

Curiosity crashed over his senses in a wave now, as he leaned over to pick it up. What game was IX playing with him, that he could be so enraptured by an enigma that he hadn't paid any attention to previously?

Opening it, his eyes drifted across the page, absorbing the messy scrawl that looked as though its owner struggled in vain to make it easily legible. The note read: _If you truly want to know me, as you say you do, meet me at the lake tomorrow morning, when the sun has finally set. You should know which world._

Zexion was about to scoff at his nonsense before it occurred to him that it was Midsummer, and therefore the worlds with a daily cycle were lit by the sun's afterglow until deep into the night. _How peculiar. I did not consider you the type to notice such small details, IX._

After careful deliberation as to the motives behind the invitation and why Demyx would possibly pretend to trust him in such a manner, Zexion decided that he would accept the offer, curiosity burning the edges of his mind.

~~~

He stood behind a tree a suitable distance away from the musician, hand against the trunk to ground himself. Peering beyond it, he spied the blond resting on a large flat rock, his bare feet creating ripples as they graced the lake's surface. His face was upturned towards the moon: a moon that _wasn't_ Kingdom Hearts.

Demyx sang without words, his cries to the night blending harmoniously with both his music and the songs of the nocturnal creatures. His face was ghost-white in the moonlight, giving him an ethereal hue. There was such _emotion_ in his voice and what could be seen of his face, loose strands of hair tussled in the cool breeze only making him grin wider. It was beautiful; mesmerising and evocative all at once. He sounded almost sad, and yet he looked as though he were flooded with an unshakeable, peaceful joy.

Zexion lost track of how long he stayed like this, listening to the melodious voice that never faltered or lost the tempo, even when the song was ending.

Skilled fingers fell from the instrument, the faint echoes of the haunting melody lingering in the air between them for a few moments longer, their gradual silence barely discernible amidst the calls of the wildlife. Slowly, Demyx turned to look over his shoulder, staring directly at Zexion across the muddy shore. A tentative smile spread across his face, eyes filled with shyness as he willed himself not to turn away. The other being stayed silent and still, as he'd grown used to but hoped against.

“So...” he murmured when he felt that the quiet had dragged on for too long.

Finally, as though a spell had been broken, Zexion stepped away from the tree, closing some of the distance in an unhurried manner. Whilst not close, he was close enough that he could read the uncertainty in the sea-green eyes, and took pity on him.

“You sounded like you were connected with all of existence,” came the reply, visible eye filled with fascination. Demyx's face lit up, effortless to read as his relief at the other's observation washed over him.

“I felt like I was. The moon and stars smiling, the trees breathing, the water dancing and the animals singing: I felt it all.” His serene smile from earlier returned, fingers absently caressing the strings of his sitar without drawing a sound.

“Why do you put so much emphasis on feelings, when we do not truly possess them?”

“We do...” the blond whispered. “No matter what they tell us, I believe that we do. Haven't you ever stopped to consider that maybe they're lying to us?”

Zexion paused. Whilst he had his suspicions about much of what he was told here, he realised with a jolt that he had never questioned it when he had been told that he was without a heart. His mind poured quickly over potential reasons behind this fact, eventually settling on his innately distant nature.

When his eye studied those of the blond, he felt the words constrict his throat. Those eyes, so full of life and hope, couldn't conceivably be an illusion or a ploy: and yet, neither were they possible without at least part of a heart. This awareness brought a sensation to his chest, and he looked down at himself in surprise, bringing a hand over where his heart would be.

“Do you understand yet, Zexi?” Demyx beamed, eyes sparkling as he spread his arms like a conductor proudly presenting his orchestra. “We _do_ have hearts.”

“It would appear... as though we do, somewhat. Demyx, you...”

The tone was music to the Nocturne's ears, and he was so entranced by its melody that he almost missed the end of the sentence.

“You're a genius.”

“Do you really think so? I mean, I don't compare to you at all, really.”

“Demyx,” Zexion sighed, not entirely exasperated, but somewhat... _fond_ , the blond decided. “Genius takes many forms and, well. Just because you interpret the world differently, it does not make you an imbecile. No matter what they say.”

“Thank you. It's nice to hear it.”

Finally, the silence that fell between them was comfortable, without judgement or hesitation. It was as Demyx had always hoped, and his smile shone brighter than any sun. He finally had someone listen to him, to take him seriously. Someone on his side, who he could call a friend. He felt complete.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Midsummer has me all fuzzy and a touch too warm, so sleeping has been kinda difficult lately. Coupled with a sudden burst of inspiration, this fic kept me up until 5:30am, so I hope it's coherent enough that it was enjoyable! I've edited it as much as I've been able to catch.


End file.
